The Center for Ultrafast Lasers (CLUR) of Universidad Complutense de Madrid is equiped with pulsed laser technologies with laser pulses in the attosecond, femtosecond and nanosecond time scales. Using these laser technologies, it is possible to offer access to laser services for research at the frontier in chemistry, physics, biology and biomedicine and in material science, in research fields involving ultrafast lasers to investigate phenomena at the temporal scale where they happen (attochemistry, attophysics, femtochemistry, femtophysics, femtobiology). Only with such an ultrashort time resolution it is possible to understand electronic and molecular change at the time scale where atomic and molecular processes occur, such as electron dynamics, bond breaking and forming, molecular movements (vibration and rotation) or energy transfer, proton transfer and electron transfer processes of interest in physics, chemistry and biology. The availability of ultraintense laser pulses makes it possible to study matter under strong electromagnetic fields where the processes of interest at a molecular level are electron dynamics, electron-nuclear coupling, dissociative ionization, Coulomb explosion and high order harmonic generation. In addition, the use of ultrafast laser pulses allows to have a photonic tool of high capabilities for materials microfabrication and nanostructured materials and thin film synthesis and modification. The possibility of pulse shaping is also relevant for the field of quantum control of physical and chemical processes and material science.

CLUR offers the possibility of custom made experiments and assays. The different nanosecond and femtosecond lasers available in combination with the additional instrumentation in the lab (molecular beams, time-of-flight mass spectrometry, ion and photoelectron imaging, time-resolved fluorescence, optics and optomechanics) and the availability of dedicated experts at CLUR allow for custom requested experimental setups and assays involving laser pulses. This way, CLUR is a unique laser installation offering access to researchers from many different areas of research in research projects involving instrumental developments.

More details about the kind of experiments and assays that can be carried out at CLUR are found in Red.escubre (in Spanish) and the Ultrafast Lasers Unit.

CLUR is member of Laserlab Europe AISBL and belongs to REDLAB of the Madrid Region. CLUR is part of the Specialized Group for Ultrafast Lasers (GELUR) of the Spanish Royal Society of Physics (RSEF). CLUR is parte of the Strategic Network LASERLAB SPAIN, coordinated by the Spanish Scientific Infrastructure (ICTS) Centro de Láseres Pulsados Ultracortos Ultraintensos (CLPU) at Salamanca and granted by the Spanish Research Agency (AEI) of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. LASERLAB SPAIN gets together 10 laser facilities and 5 laser research groups all over Spain.